I turn on the lights and go to my suspect wall. Rip it down piece by piece until there’s nothing left.
The white paint is a blank canvas. I’ll put something nice here. Something Dakota would’ve liked.
Gus snuffs at the box in the corner, the one marked Napa State. He scratches at the edge of it, making long claw marks down the side, and my hairs stand on end.
I look behind me, but the room is empty. The night as quiet as falling snow.
Pushing Gus aside, I open the dusty flaps and scour the refuse of my career. Books, papers, a Keep Talking, I’m Diagnosing You mug. At the bottom, beneath it all, I find it. It’s Shadow Man’s last gift to me. I’m certain of that.
It’s Roscoe’s collar.
Epilogue
(Sunday, December 23, 2018)
Tyler Lowry is as predictable as a rat in a cheese maze. A numbskull, my dad would say. And I’ve tailed that numbskull to the Napa Prep lacrosse field every evening since he’d arrived back at his parents’ house in Napa on Christmas vacation, sporting his Duke gear like he owned the place.
“Alright, hand me the goods,” Dad says, flashing a mischievous grin. He’s been taking his meds again, but all the risperdal in the world isn’t enough to contain Crazy Krandel when he sets his mind to something. “Careful though. They ain’t nothin’ to mess with.”
I pass him the box from Reptiles ‘R’ Us, a special order courtesy of Boyd Blackburn, and take a step back for my own safety.
Dad leans over the pit we’d dug in front of the gate and empties the contents.
“Now we camouflage it. Just like I taught you.”
The leaf cover in place, we hightail it to my dad’s old rust bucket to wait before the field lights come on. The night is a cold one, and we huddle together over a can of Beanee Weenees, clinking spoons before the first bite.
“Cheers!”
I wash down the salty sweetness with a swig of coke from Dad’s cooler. It’s no Olde English. Certainly, no Macallan 18. But we’re both off the sauce, earning our two-month bronze chips together at the Allendale AA meeting a week ago.
“Dakota was somethin’ special,” he says, staring off for a moment. “Just like her mama.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t let you see her more. I should have found a way to make it work.”
“You did the best you could, Mol. That’s what we do as parents. The best we know how. Even if it ain’t worth a hill of beans. I hurt you. I hurt Roscoe. You only wanted to protect her from that. You weren’t wrong.”
I smile at him, letting my eyes well. “Thanks for helping me with this, Dad. It feels like old times. But better.”
“What kind of daddy would I be if I didn’t help my girl get some good ole-fashioned revenge? Let me see that list. What other numbskulls we got on there?”
Dad reads the names exactly as I’d written them. I wish I could take credit, but I’d stolen the first nickname from Dakota’s phone records. “Dickface Tyler. Backstabbing Hannah. Doctor Jackass.”
I’d given Joanna Montgomery a pass. She’d have to deal with Cole. That was punishment enough.
At exactly 7:01 p.m., Tyler squeals into the parking lot in his little black Jetta, the official car of pricks everywhere. He cracks the door and struts out, lacrosse stick balanced against one shoulder. He’s headed straight for the punji pit.
“Here it comes,” Dad says. “In three, two, one . . .”
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Acknowledgments
Some writers say every book is easier to write than the last. I wish that was true! For me, each book is different in its own way and no less challenging than the one that came before. With that said, completing Shadows Among Us would not have been possible without the AnnCastro Studio team who provided all editing services for book, including developmental editing/line editing by Ann Castro; proofing via an editorial eye by Emily Dings; and test reading/evaluation by Katrina “Kat” Martin; Giovanni Auriemma who produced the mysterious and intriguing cover; and Mallory Rock who designed the book’s interior. As always, I owe a debt of gratitude to my friends, family, and work colleagues—my cheerleaders—who are always there telling me to keep writing and keep dreaming big. And of course, to you, dear readers, for devouring every sinful bite of the Doctors of Darkness series!
I never intended to write a book about the Vietnam War, but when Victor Krandel came to life in my mind he told me he was a Vietnam vet, and thus a major portion of the storyline was born. In 1968, the Pentagon established the Vietnam War Crimes Working Group to investigate the veracity of allegations of war crimes committed by United States forces in Vietnam, in light of the My Lai Massacre after which Charlie Company’s Lieutenant William Calley shouldered the blame for the methodical killings of more than five hundred unarmed victims, as well as the sexual assaults of women and young girls, mutilation of the dead, and burning of homes and villages. My Lai was once believed to be an isolated incident, the crazed actions of a disturbed ranking officer; however, over time, numerous more war crimes have been documented by journalists like Nick Turse, who penned Kill Anything that Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam, which inspired many of the scenes in this book. It is an intense, moving, and eye-opening read that I highly recommend.
I’ll end this one the way I always do, because it is just as true as the first time I wrote it: We all have a space inside us that we keep hidden from the world, a space we protect at all costs. So many people have allowed me a glimpse inside theirs—dark deeds, memories best unrecalled, pain that cracks from the inside out—without expectation of anything in return. I couldn’t have written a single true word without them.
Also by Ellery Kane
Shadows Among Us is the fourth in the Doctors of Darkness series of psychological thrillers by forensic psychologist and author, Ellery Kane. Look for the next book, How to Disappear, coming soon. If you want to be the first to know when new books are released, sign up for Ellery’s newsletter at ellerykane.com.
If you enjoyed Shadows Among Us, look for these other great reads from Ellery Kane.
Doctors of Darkness Series
Daddy Darkest
The Hanging Tree
The First Cut
Shadows Among Us
How to Disappear (coming soon!)
Legacy Series
Legacy
Prophecy
Revelation
AWOL
About the Author
Forensic psychologist by day, novelist by night, Ellery Kane has been writing--professionally and creatively--for as long as she can remember. Just like many of her main characters, Ellery loves to ask why, which is the reason she became a psychologist in the first place. Real life really is stranger than fiction, and Ellery’s writing is often inspired by her day job. Evaluating violent criminals and treating trauma victims, she has gained a unique perspective on the past and its indelible influence on the individual. And she’s heard her fair share of real life thrillers. An avid short story writer as a teenager, Ellery recently began writing for enjoyment again, and she doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon!
Ellery’s debut novel, Legacy, has received several awards, including winning the Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, young adult, e-book category, and the Gold Medal in the Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards, teenage category. In 2016, Ellery was selected as one of ten semifinalists in the MasterClass James Patterson Co-Author Competition.
Ellery A Kane, Shadows Among Us
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